Lingering & Bliss
by Wing Knight
Summary: Fourteen years had passed since the defeat of Apocalypse, and the second generations of the X-Men enjoy the moment. But would this bliss be overshadowed by the lingering memories of the past?
1. Chapter 1

Lingering & Bliss

By: Wing Knight

Note: I do not own X-Men, therefore, do not sue me. This is my first X-Men: Evolution fic. I noticed that there isn't any powerful Asian mutants so……I took liberty to create one in the interest of fairness. The story continues fourteen years after **Weapon-T. **Of course, AU.

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For the last fourteen years, the mankind had taken a course in the history like before. A new civil rights movement took place, with mutants marching around the cities around the United States. This new movement had finally taken root four years ago. The mobs and other non-mutants' demonstration settled down, and began accepting the mutants. Charles Xavier's ideals now took root. Everyone remained in the Xavier institute, although some of them were not living in the mansion grounds. Wu and Rogue, for example, took residence in the mansion next door, although it was about half a mile away. Most of them were in their early-thirties, and most of them had children. Jean and Scott had a son, named Michael. His mutation showed up just last year, and the Xavier institute was helping him develop it. He had red hairs, and green eyes. His power had taken shape into a type of telekinesis. Since it was in the department of Jean, he had a lot of help from his mother. He had just finished his session when a girl came in with Wu and Rogue.

" Hi, Chun."

The girl frowned. She didn't like the name at all. She was also a mutant, which seemed obvious. However, she had a peculiar power like her parents. It was noticed a year ago when she seemingly made a crystal horse out of thin air. Wu thought she got it from somewhere and searched around the place for hours. When he realized that his daughter had somehow materialized the crystal horse, he knew her mutation had shown.

" Don't call me Chun!"

Michael, or Mike, as most of the others called him, apologized.

" Sorry, Liza."

Chun 'Liza' Law, had a white stripe in her hair like her mother, but due to her Asian heritage, she had black hairs. This caused a definite form of 'skunk,' which used to be a nickname hated by her mother, Rogue. Liza didn't like it one bit, but there was nothing she could do. She looked more like her mother. She also had pale skin, though her black hair and dark brown eyes made the skin appear paler than her mother. From distance, she looked like the undead. She skipped around the Danger Room. On the way, she materialized a roller blades and began skating through the smooth floor.

" Whee!"

Rogue sighed.

" Liza. Come here, darin'."

Liza turned around and dashed at her mother. She was going very fast when she felt herself slow down. Her father was slowing him down. She finally halted about two feet in front of her mother.

" Come'on…daddy."

Wu showed a mock frown.

" We are here to train… Chun."

Wu had named his daughter Chun. Since she was picked on for having a weird name, Rogue came up with Elizabeth, but the kid thought it was mouthful, so she shortened it down to Liza. She hated being called Chun. It reminded her of the days when she was picked on by the other kids at the kindergarten. But she knew when her parents were displeased since they called her by her real name. She sighed.

" Why can't we have fun, daddy?"

Wu looked down. He had pushed her far lately, and the 'fun' was about due.

" Okay. We'll have fun. Rogue, should we call the other kids?"

Rogue nodded. She went outside and called the other kids. They poured into the Danger Room. Most of them were first generation mutants, although there were some second generation mutants like Mike and Liza. Wu smirked.

" Okay. You guys can have fun today, but…"

The kids groaned. There was that conditioning again.

" …You don't do anything that's out of the institute rules."

He then threw a bag full of toys. When the kids had picked their gadgets, he led them outside. In the grass field, Wu turned around.

" Let the fun begin!"

The kids yelled and took various positions for their fun. Some played soccer, football, or other sports. Wu sat on the stairs with Rogue, keeping their eyes on the kids.

" Yah really have a way with da kids…"

Wu wrapped his arm around Rogue's shoulder.

" Well, we were one of them once. It is not that hard to understand them."

Xavier came out in his wheel chair with other senior staffs. He looked not much older than before. They all figured he was old enough that there was no more room to get older. Logan, well, he looked normal as usual. His regenerative power didn't allow much of aging. Ororo didn't show much of aging as well. All in all, the only thing that showed the passage of time was the new kids. Scott and Jean were out there with their son, having fun with the kids. Kitty was enjoying the moment with Lance. It was quite amazing. Although they bickered now and then, they were getting along just fine. In fact, Lance had moved out of the Brotherhood and stayed in the Xavier Institute. He figured since he and Kitty were married, he'll have better reason to stay in the mansion. He was sitting under a tree with Kitty. They didn't have any children yet. Though they wanted to, Kitty was against the idea for now. Liza came by, making an ice cream on the cone and handed them to her parents. Wu and Rogue enjoyed the ice cream that was created by their daughter and began licking off the cold, and sweet vanilla cream. Liza sat between them and smiled happily.

" Come on, join us!"

Rogue and Wu got up and followed Liza to the soccer field. The others were really enjoying the game. Wu sat on the sideline, tying his shoe laces and placing his long hair as bun on the top of his head. He came in with Rogue. Immediately the ball came to Wu. Wu kicked the balls in mid air to get the feelings for this game. He hadn't played the game in a long time. Though he watched it, he didn't actually play it.

" It doesn't seem hard…"

Wu tapped the ball about six inches and then kicked it towards the goal. Jean caught it with her body and ran to the goal opposite of the direction of the ball. Rogue was following Jean closely. Rogue kicked the ball away, and ran to the goal. She passed the ball back to Wu when he just stood there. He was struck by the ball and fell to the grass.

" What the?"

Wu came out of his trance. He shook his head and sighed.

' Something's wrong.'

He got up, and dusted himself off.

" Yah alright? Ah mean, what happened?"

Wu shrugged.

" I do not know. I felt something wrong, but I do not know what."

He and Rogue stepped out of the game. They sat down under a shade to get some rest.

" Ah think yah've had some stress lately. Yah know, with Liza behavin' weird and thin's like that."

Wu shook his head.

" I do not think so. I felt this when I, or anyone whom I know was in danger. It is a sort of warning. Someone is threatening the safety of someone I know…"

Rogue brushed her hair back, and gazed into Wu's eyes. It used to be so easy to see what he was thinking, but since he killed Apocalypse, it wasn't that easy anymore.

" So, what yah thinkin'?"

Wu had a grim face on.

" I do not know. But there is a danger to us."

Wu saw Rogue with worries in her eyes. He brushed back the rest of her hair and smiled.

" Do not worry. I will not let it happen."

* * *

In the ruins of the Mayan temple, two figures emerged from the high pyramid. Smaller one looked around the immediate surroundings then smiled.

" Well, Juggernaut. We move with our plan."

Juggernaut grunted.

" Yes. We shall get them."

Scott sat in his seat with the other senior staffs. He was discussing about the recent condition of the students.

" …Jane is having hard time adjusting to the institute, but that's to be expected for one who just came here…John is doing quite well. He did burn off his uniform, but we can't do anything about that for now…"

He was surprised at the level of these kids were conducting themselves. They were much better disciplined than they were. The accident rate was down, although there were more students. He moved on to the second generations.

" Mike is doing well, and as well as Liza. We're also expecting Carol to show her mutation, if it exists, within a year."

Kurt and Tabitha sighed. They hoped that the case would not be a mutation, but that was slim to none. They really didn't want their Caroline to suffer the persecution that may still exist. Now the meeting turn for the worst. It was time for Wu and Rogue's turn to report.

" I think we have a danger coming soon." said Wu.

Everyone became alerted. Wu was rarely wrong.

" What do you mean?"  
Wu sighed.

" We never found Juggernaut fourteen years ago, did we?"

Scott nodded.

" Yeah. Come to think of it, we didn't."

Wu continued when he noticed he had their attention now.

" I do not think that Sinister is dead either. I am not sure about this one, but he is alive, and planned an agenda of his own."

Kitty remembered the encounter.

" Wait. Who did he mean by, like, they? I remember him mumbling, like about 'they' look interesting."

They all remembered that.

" We don't know."

Logan thought about it.

" Judging from his expertise and what he did to the captured agents, I'd say he's looking for a subject to experiment on."

Kurt thought about it.

" I zhink he has marked us as zhe subjects."

Wu shook his head.

" No. I think he was talking about specific ones. He wants someone powerful."

Jean gasped.

" Oh my god… You guys…"

Wu nodded his head.

" And…Liza."

Scott shook his head.

" He wouldn't have known."

Xavier caught on.

" No. It makes perfect sense. Sinister probably had experimented on himself. That means he has multiple mutations taking place in his body. He could well be a psychic as well, and able to see the future."

Rogue was outraged.

" No way that jerk's gettin' mah Liza."

Wu nodded.

" I will not let that happen."

The meeting adjourned. Wu and Rogue took Liza back to their house, where they tucked her to bed. Wu and Rogue laid in bed not far from Liza's room.

" Should we take turns watchin' her?"  
Wu got up.

" I got it."

He got out of the bed, with his sword in his hand. He sat outside of Liza's room. His ears were honed in for any sound. From the empty and quiet house, he could hear almost every noise made. He heard the rustling from Liza rolling in the bed, and pages flipping from Rogue's romance novels. Wu himself tried to read them, but he was quite shocked at the graphic details written in the book. He had a surprised expression for about four hours before he was able to settle down. Rogue had kick out of seeing his expression, but Wu was quite surprised. Wu cleared his thoughts and concentrated on his hearing. For hours, there was no change. Then, after a long hours of wait, Wu heard a loud noise from the alarm. The door to the master bedroom opened and Rogue came out. She rushed down to the kitchen and placed the cereal on the table. Liza came down with her school clothes on and her backpack. She quickly ate the breakfast and headed out the door. Rogue sighed and leaned against the table.

" Yah didn't wake meh up last night."

Wu shrugged with smile.

" Oh, you were sleeping like an angel so I did not want to bother you."

Rogue poked Wu.

" Well, yah shouldn't have."

Wu got up.

" Well, we should get ready for our jobs."

They went upstairs. Rogue changed to a blue jean and simple t-shirt, and Wu did the same. It wasn't that cold these days, and they figured it would do just fine. It was time for them to visit the Xavier Institute.

" So, should we walk, or drive?"

Rogue thought about it, then sighed.

" Let's drive. We have to pick up Liza."

Wu nodded, then grabbed the key. With the short drive, they entered the Xavier Institute. The kids were having some fun. Apparently, their instructors were not here yet.

" Hey, who's yah instructors?"

The kids yelled in unison.

" Mr. and Mrs. Law!"

Wu raised his eyebrow. They were not scheduled for instruction until Wednesday. They checked the board, and sure enough they were assigned to those kids. Wu grabbed Logan.

" What is this about?"

Logan smirked.

" Their original instructors, Kurt and Tabitha, needed to go shopping. Turns out that fuzz ball forgot to buy something for their Carol."

Rogue grumbled.

" Gee. Ah need to do somethin' about mah powers too."

Rogue had partially managed to control her powers, and she really wanted that total control. Sure, her family members, Liza and Wu, were immune to it, but the others were the problem. Because of this, she never attended any school function for Liza. She really felt guilty, and she really wanted to make it up to Liza. Without complaint, Wu headed out to the kids, while Rogue went into the room to try to manage her powers. Wu thought it would be easy. He was wrong. The kids pretty much overwhelmed his senses. It was getting really hard to keep track on any one of them. Soon, Wu sighed and sat on the ground. He thought about a way to keep track of them when he heard a scream. He turned his eyes and saw one of the kid lose control over his powers. It was Joseph Charei, the kid with the power similar to Tabitha. Wu got up and pointed his hand towards every little objects that was set to explode.

" Everyone, stay away!"

Although Wu had slowed down the time fuse on the things, one by one, they began to explode. The fragments flew around, hitting everything in its path. The other staff members ran out, and saw what was happening. Jean used her power to keep the fragments away from the kids, while Bobby iced down the fires. Wu changed his tactics and froze the time on the little 'bombs' altogether. The others transported the frozen bombs and threw it to the safe place. Wu loosened his grip on time and the bombs exploded away from causing any collateral damage.

" Whew!"

Joseph appeared to be hurt emotionally. Wu looked at Xavier and he nodded. It was a time for encouraging counseling.

" Joseph. Come with me, please."

Joseph Charei, known by others as 'Bomber' followed the professor to his room. Wu sighed and turned to the other kids.

" Okay. Let's settle things down a little."

Wu threw a football. He really did not get this game, but he decided that the other kids would understand the game better. Wu left Jean and Scott in charge, then went to Rogue's room. She had a concerned expression in her eyes.

" What was that?"

" Our 'Bomber' had an accident. Don't worry. No damages to the kids. So, how is your training?"

Rogue shrugged.

" Slow progress. Ah don't know why, but Ah just can't get mah power to turn on and off when Ah want to. It just goes on and off all on its own."

Rogue saw the clock, and panicked.

" We gotta pick up Liza."

" Here you go."

Wu gave her the key. He thought that it might do her good to pick her up herself.

" Why aren't yah comin' with meh?"

" Oh, I just want you to have that mother-daughter moments. Besides, I have to take care of the kids."

Rogue looked at Wu as though she didn't believe him.

" Uh-huh…"

She got out and drove away. Wu looked at his watch and sighed. He was late again. He got out and saw the kids grumbling.

" Okay. Danger Room time. Follow me."

The kids followed Wu to the large room. Most of the kids were amazed at what the room offered. Wu had his uniform on, along with his sword. He handed the kids over to Logan and left.

Rogue arrived at the school. Liza was talking with her friends, the non-mutant ones.

" Hey, is that your mom, Liza?"

Liza saw the familiar face. She didn't have any make ups on these days, but she had seen her wear the Goth make up before.

" Yeah. I'll see you later."

Liza entered the jeep. Rogue smiled.

" How was yahr day?"

" Oh, the usual."

Rogue drove into the road, and headed to the institute.

" So, why didn't dad come here?"

" He thought yah and Ah could have fun together."

" Oh." Liza thought about it. She didn't spend much of time with her mother, and her father knew it.

" So, where should we go, mom?"  
Rogue thought about that. It was really hard to decide.

" Ah don't know… da mall?"

Liza nodded. The jeep changed lane to turn left. A red car stopped next to them. Liza looked to her right, and saw her friends.

" Hey!"

" Hey, Liza. Who's that?"

Liza moved her eyes to her mother.

" She's my mom."

The girl in the red car yelled out.

" Now we know where you get that hair."

Liza forced a smile.

" Yeah."

The left turn light came on and Rogue turned to enter the mall. She found a parking spot and stopped the car. They got out, locking the door as they did so.

" So, where should we go first?"

Liza thought about a moment, then smiled.

" How about hotdogs? I'm hungry."

Rogue smiled.

" Alright, hotdogs it is."

They ordered two hotdogs and two sodas. They had just begun eating them when Liza noticed something in her mother's eyes.

" What's wrong, mom?"

Rogue quickly hid what she was thinking.

" Nothin.' Nothin' at all."

Rogue quickly finished the hotdogs and looked around the clothes stores. In one of the stores, Rogue pulled out the clothes much like what she wore in her high-school years. Liza frowned. She didn't like it much. She looked around the room and found a much more trendy clothes. They were basically loose. Rogue sighed.

" Yah know Ah don't do well with loose clothes…"

Liza sighed.

" Yeah. You're right…"

They stepped out and went to the men's section.

" What are we doing here, mom?"

Rogue smirked.

" Oh, yahr dad needs some slacks."

They looked around the pants, and found the size hard to find. Wu was just too lean. When they found the right waist size, the leg was too short, and when they found the right leg length, the waist was just too big. Rogue and Liza sighed.

" Why can't daddy have more easier physique?"

Rogue chuckled lightly.

" He's got better chance at findin' da right size in women's section."

Liza nodded.

" Yeah…"

After about ten minutes of search, they finally found the right size. Rogue took out her wallet and paid for the pants. They grabbed the bag and walked around the rest of the shops. Rogue felt her cell phone vibrate, and checked the screen. It was Wu.

" What's up?"

" How is it going? Having fun yet?"

Liza asked who it was by her facial expression. Rogue covered the phone.

" It's daddy."

Rogue went back to the conversation.

" We just bought yah a slack. Liza's talkin' about your physique."

" Oh?"

Rogue smiled.

" But we like yah just the way yah are."

" Well, thank you honey."

Rogue smacked her lips and whispered.

" See yah later, sugah."

They hung up, and Rogue pocketed the phone. She then tapped Liza.

" Where should we go next?"

Liza thought about it. They ate, they looked around for clothes, and…

" I think we're done."

Rogue answered in a rather disappointed tone.

" Oh."

Liza smirked.

" We can do this again."

Rogue smiled.

" Yeah."

They drove back to the Xavier Institute. As soon as they got there, Liza began talking with the other mutants. Wu saw this and cleared his throat to get her attention.

" What is the rule?"

Liza rolled her eyes, and sighed.

" Always do your homework first."

Wu smiled.

" Well?"

Liza sighed in frustration and sat on the table. She took out the homework and began. In her mind though, she was grumbling. She hated the rule. Although she liked her father, it didn't work out very well. Her real teens had begun.

' Why's he bothering with these rules? I don't see Mike doing his homework…'

Rogue sat in front of her, and handed her a glass of iced water.

" Yah shouldn't let that rule depress yah. Yahr daddy means well. Heck, when Ah was in this institute, we were supposed to finish homework first too."

Liza pouted.

" Well, he should try to understand me."

Rogue caressed Liza's face.

" He does. Trust meh. He does understand yah. Ah mean, he doesn't bother yah when yah follow da rules…"

Liza knew that was true. So long as she was within the boundary set by her father, she could explore anywhere she wanted. She sighed.

" Well, not doing the homework first isn't going to kill anyone…"

Rogue sighed.

" Did Ah tell yah about what classes yahr daddy took when he was in high-school?"

Liza shook her head.

" No."

" He took pretty much da classes yahr takin' right now… It wouldda been possible to get into those Ivy League colleges, but when we found out that those colleges wasn't gonna accept us 'cause we're mutants, yahr daddy took it hard. Ah think he still feels bad about it."

Liza thought about it.

" So he wants me to go to college?"

" And be successful. Let meh tell yah. There ain't much of choice of jobs when yah don't go to college."

Liza nodded.

" I think I know what you mean."

After being reassured that her daughter was doing her homework, Rogue walked outside, closing the door to reduce the noise that might distract her. Jean and Scott saw Liza through the glass door and sighed.

" I wish Mike would be like her, Scott."

The red-shaded man raised his hand.

" What? It's not my fault."

" Well, you should at least set the rules like Wu. Sometimes, Mike is so hard to control. I'm tempted to use telepathy on him."

They saw Wu and Rogue walking in the grass field. Wu was using his telekinesis that had developed well to move away any objects that might pose danger. They stopped in front of Scott and Jean.

" So, any trouble with those kids?" asked Scott.

Wu nodded, but with the smile that said it was expected or it was not that much of trouble.

" Uh-huh. Listen. How do you guys get Liza to do her task properly? I mean we have trouble getting Mike to do things he should be doing."

Wu was surprised to hear that.

" You mean, he is not doing his homework before doing his training? Wow! I never realized…"

Jean sighed.

" He's getting harder to control. Sometimes, I feel like using telepathy on him."

Rogue smirked.

" Here's da tip. Set little rules as possible, and let them do anythin' so long as they follow those few rules you've set up. That's what Wu's doin' with Liza."

Scott sighed.

" That's not easy as it sounds. We're tempted to dictate him."

Wu smirked.

" Yeah… Just remember how we were training the new kids years ago. If we do what we have done back then, it should not be much of problem."

Mike was running close to them. Jean called out his name, causing him to redirect his attention to his parents.

" Yeah?"

" Go do your homework, young man." said Jean.

" Aw, come on… Five more minutes?" said Mike, with obvious protesting and a whining tone.

Scott stood up, and pointed to the mansion.

" Go do as your mother tells you. If you finish your homework, you can play anytime."

Mike grumbled and went away. As he entered the mansion, Liza came out, with happiness. She had finished her task and was free to do whatever she wanted now. Wu looked at her with inquiring expression.

" Did you finish?"

" Yes, dad."

Wu smiled, and nodded his approval to play. Liza ran out to join the other kids. They were playing tag, with their powers. Rogue and Wu were supervising it. They made sure that nothing went awry, such as their powers going out of control. Liza was 'it,' trying to catch the others. She would have preferred to have her father's power right now. It would have been a lot easier to just freeze the time and walking around to catch the others. Since she didn't, she resolved to materialize a roller blade with wheels good enough to be used in grass and other outdoor environment. She skated around, finally tagging Ernesto Carrillo, the kid with the power to manipulate the sound waves at will. Liza laughed, and ran. The other kids now ran away from Ernesto. Ernesto clapped his hand, creating a sonic wave. He then used the sound to stun most of the kids in their tracks. He walked over to the nearest victim, Marko Goslonotov, a Russian kid who, much like Wu was, came to US to study. He had an interesting power of controlling the air. In most of the cases, he used his power to clean up the air, making it more breathable. He had a deadly application to his powers though. He could theoretically create a vacuum zone around his target, killing the person. It was purely theoretical, and never been done. Marko was content with making the air fresh. He was quite kind hearted kid. Though his family was poor in American standards, which was common for the country's economy in shambles, his parents were quite rich in Russian standards. Many kids thought that his parents belonged to mafia, but it wasn't true. Their parents were not an ardent communists. They just followed whatever rules that controlled their behavior, but truly believed that the capitalism was the way. Using their status as a diplomat, Marko's father, Ivan Goslonotov, gathered in a quite a fortune from the western nations. Marko sighed, and muttered under his breath for his loss. He looked around and found someone hiding behind a tree. He smiled and jumped towards the body. He was surprised at who he caught. It was the non-participant, Kitty. She yelled out loud, and pretty much chewed him out for catching her instead of someone else. Marko apologized and searched around the trees again. He thought about using his powers, making the air stinky in the trees to herd out the kids who were hiding. After a moment of debate with himself, he decided to go for it. He waved his arm and the kids screamed out of the trees. Marko tagged the first one to come out, who happened to be Bobby Drake. They continued this pattern of utilization of their powers in a creative way. At about six in the afternoon, the game ended with everyone satisfied. The kids returned to the mansion for their dinner. The pizza that they ordered had just arrived, reaching to the hands of the hungry kids and the staff members. Various slices of pizzas went around the large table. Wu and Rogue ate little, since they didn't do much of activities. Rogue gazed at Liza consuming a lot of food.

" Yah know Wu. Liza here didn't eat yahr food, didn't she?"

The other adults sighed.

" Oh…"

Kurt's mouth was watering. The kids were curious as to why. Mike decided to ask.

" Why are you guys drooling?"

Scott patted his son's shoulder.

" Oh, you don't know how good of a cook uncle Wu is."

That got the other kids to look at Wu. He quickly went on defensive.

" No, no. I am not that good of a cook as you give me credit for. I am sure there are better cooks out there."

Rogue leaned close to him.

" Ah'm sure yah're da best around here."

The kids began begging the ex-monk to perform his skills again. Liza, herself, was curious as well. During the fourteen years of her life, she never tasted her father's food. He was busy at the mansion, teaching the other kids and her the use of their gifts. There were rumors that her father had worked in some secret government agency before she was born, but she dismissed it. It was unlikely that her father was that 'cool.' He was just a regular guy, provided that he was a quite powerful mutant.

* * *

Sinister, and Juggernaut had gathered up a quite a lot of mutants to their cause. They had essentially created a version of the Acolytes of fourteen years ago. These mutants had been training to become better than the X-Men. With their genetic manipulation, they were what Sinister called, Super Mutants. They were determined to dominate the other life forms.

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Sinister is making his move. Will the X-Men be ready for them? R & R please.


	2. Chapter 2

Lingering & Bliss

By: Wing Knight

Note: I do not own X-Men, therefore, do not sue me. This is my first X-Men: Evolution fic. I noticed that there isn't any powerful Asian mutants so……I took liberty to create one in the interest of fairness. The story continues fourteen years after **Weapon-T. **Of course, AU.

************************************************************************

Up on the numerous requests and begging from the kids, Wu was finally forced to cook for them. He had purchased a vast amount of chicken, rice, and vegetables. With everyone out of the kitchen, he donned the apron and began steaming the rice. While the rice was being steamed, he prepared the chicken and cooked the white meat with the vegetables he had prepared also. The aroma had once again filled the mansion, drawing everyone to the kitchen. Wu sighed, and shooed them away. About ten minutes had passed when Wu called everyone to the table. The dishes were ready to be served to the hungry people. Everyone sat down and exclaimed a comment or another. Wu smiled, and finally let the others eat. The kids ate their meals fully satisfied. Most of them finally got full, and left the table. Wu and Rogue retired to the living room and sat on the sofa. Rogue smiled as she stared into Wu's eyes.

" Well, thank yah for da dinner."

Wu smirked, then saw Liza.

" Well, I guess we are going home."

Wu got up, offering his hand to Rogue. Rogue smiled and took his hand to get up. They walked to the jeep and drove home. Liza plopped down on the sofa, and turned on the TV. Rogue immediately turned the TV off.

" Liza, we've gotta talk about somethin'."

Liza sighed, and looked at her parents with half anger.

" Okay, what do you want?"

Wu sighed. He didn't know where to start.

" Listen, Liza. I know about you hearing rumors about me from the institute. That I worked for a secret government agency…"

Liza nodded.

" Yeah, so what? Did you really work for an agency?"

Wu sighed.

" Yes. Along with your mother."

Liza's eyes widened.

" What?! Mom too?"

Rogue let out a nervous laughter.

" Yeah…meh too."

Liza leaned closer.

" So what is it that you wanted to tell me?"  
Wu cleared his throat.

" There is a mutant, well two of them actually, who wants to get mom, you, and me. That means you will limit your activities until the matter is resolved."

Liza began her protest.

" I can't! I have a social life to live! You really don't understand!"

She got up, and stormed to her room. Wu heard the slamming of the door.

" Chun!"

Wu walked upstairs, and knocked on the door.

" Open the door, Chun!"

Liza covered her ears with the pillow and screamed.

" Go away!"

Wu knocked again.

" Open this door young lady. I am really disappointed in you."

Rogue came to the door, and held back Wu's arm.

" If she don't like it, we can't force her to do anythin'. All we can do's protect her."

Wu sighed, and went to the bed room. The night was getting deeper by the minutes, and they needed the sleep. He laid on the bed, thinking about Sinister and Juggernaut. He was sure that they will come for his family.

' They would make their moves soon…'

Wu could not sleep, though he knew Rogue was watching Liza very well. His hands held on to his sword, which was laid on his chest should anything happen. Meanwhile, Rogue sat outside of Liza's room. She was there for about few hours when she thought that she heard a window opening. She walked into the room, only to find it empty. She ran back to the master bedroom and woke up Wu.

" Liza's gone. Our little sugah's gone somewhere."

Wu ran into the room, and saw the window open, which confirmed what Rogue was claiming.

" We have to find her. They would make their moves soon."

Rogue and Wu ran outside, Wu felt the disturbed grass and guessed where she was headed.

" I think she went to the park. Her tracks lead that way. I will go to the park. Why don't you check the other side?"

Rogue nodded and ran away from the park. Wu arrived at the park, and walked around frantically. He looked up in the branches and other places that Liza could hide. The park was quite a big place, and he needed some help. He called Rogue over the cell phone.

" How are you doing?"

He heard the sigh over the other side.

" Haaahhh… Ah can't find her. She's not here at da institute."

Wu thought about it. She was not in the institute, and he had not yet searched the park completely. He obviously needed help.

" Rogue, come to the park. I think she is here."

" Alright."

Meanwhile, Liza was hiding out near by the lake in the park. She gazed at the fishes swimming around in the water, and she sighed. They moved so gracefully, and energetically. She threw the final piece of bread in the water and looked up at the violet sky. The moon was full, and shining down on the lake and the fishes. She looked down and saw a reflection on the water. It was big, and shaped like a human.

" Huh?"

She saw a gigantic man with the dome shaped helmet. He was chuckling.

" I found you… heh heh."

Liza got up, and raised her fists. She learned the martial arts from her parents, but she wasn't that confident with it. This guy appeared to be really tough.

" Wh…Who are you?"

The gigantic man came into the light.

" I'm Juggernaut, and I'm here to take you somewhere."

" I…I'll scream…"

" Go ahead. I need to take your parents too anyways…"

Step by step, he came closer to Liza. She backed away slowly, stopping at the edge of lake. Juggernaut saw this and smirked.

" Looks like you're cornered, mouse."

" Looks like you've never heard of the saying cornered mouse can attack the cat."

She kicked Juggernaut in the shin, and ran. Juggernaut hopped for a moment and then gave chase.

" Help! Somebody help!"

Wu was in the vicinity. He heard the cry for help, and knew who it was.

" Liza."

He ran towards the sound, giving Rogue the progress report while at it.

" I found her. She is looking for help."

He arrived in time to find Juggernaut almost within reach of Liza. He slowed down the time and snatched his daughter away from the pursuer. He stopped and turned around to Juggernaut. He was satisfied that two of the tree targets were in the same place.

" Well, well, well. If it ain't the monk boy…"

Wu opened the long wrapping off of the sword. Liza saw the sword for the first time.

" Daddy?"

Wu unsheathed the sword, and the reverse blade shined from the moonlight. Just then, the cell phone rang, and Liza picked it up.

" Hello?"

" Baby? How are yah? Yah alright? Aren't yah hurt?"

" There's a large man. I think his name's Juggernaut or something."

Something in Rogue snapped. So they have made their move, she thought.

" Sugah, don't worry. Yahr daddy would protect yah. And Ah'll be there soon."

The conversation ended with the loud clang of contact with the sword and the helmet. The noise echoed through out the park, beating everyone's ears who were close enough to the source. Fortunately, only Rogue was within that area. She ran to the opening near by the lake, and found Wu and Juggernaut fully engaged in battle. Behind Wu was Liza, obviously shuddering from terror. She stopped next to Liza and grabbed her shoulder. Liza finally let out her fears.

" Mom! I'm sorry!"

The sound drew closer, Wu was stepping backwards. Wu stopped just five feet away from his family. He did not want to take another step back, fearing it might involve the others. He swung his sword and Juggernaut's helmet fell off. It was so bent out of shape that the buckles couldn't hold it anymore. The massive body took a step forward to grab Wu. Wu slowed down the time, and used his much developed telekinesis to push Juggernaut back, but he had used so much power behind it that Juggernaut actually flew backwards, striking a tree and breaking it. Wu sighed and sheathed his sword. He kneeled in front of Liza.

" Well, are you okay?"

Liza sniffled and managed to answer.

" Yeah."

Wu smiled, and offered his hand.

" Let's go home."

Behind her father, Liza saw Juggernaut getting up. He was dashing towards them when her father disappeared from her sight, although she had him in her sight. The next thing surprised her. Like a lightning, he struck the gigantic hunk of muscle multiple times with his sword, and using his telekinesis to squeeze the threat from all directions. Juggernaut groaned. Although he was virtually invulnerable, the pain was unbearable. He was in the process of being imploded. He was suspended in the air, being slowly squeezed to death. Wu let out a low growl and kicked the free floating man in the stomach, and forced him to bend forward. Immediately, he high kicked Juggernaut's face, making him bleed all over his face. Wu then waved his hand to throw Juggernaut to the side. The gigantic mass flew, crashing through a lot of trees and disappearing from the sight. Wu turned around, with Rogue and Liza astonished at the condition of his eyes. Rogue was especially surprised. The dark brown eyes were cold. They soon warmed up to his usual expression.

" Let's go."

They arrived back at their house, and decided that Liza should sleep in the master bedroom with them. She sighed.

" I don't wanna go in there. I'm a big kid."

Wu had stashed away the sword by this time, and made a joke.

" Well, when you were a baby, you slept in your mother's arms practically every night."

Liza pouted.

" Well, I'm grown up now…"

Liza did not complain further. She knew it wasn't much use. She followed Rogue to bed, while Wu made a place on the floor. He leaned against the wall, with his sword in his arms. He wasn't sure what was going to happen, so he needed to be prepared for anything. He wasn't sure how long had passed, but he began hearing the calm and steady breathings of sleep. He smiled inwardly, and gazed outside the window. There were stars shimmering against the dark sky. The crickets, and other night bugs were creating a symphony that delighted the ears of Wu. After about seven hours of the musicals of the insects, the light came from over the horizon. It was a stunning sight. Although he was now accustomed to the scenery, the mere fact that the dark environment was now full of color was intriguing. Finally, he let out a yawn, and blinked a couple of times to re-moisturize his eyes. He had just stood up to stretch when Rogue and Liza woke up.

" Good morning daddy."

" Good mornin'. Yah okay?"

Wu nodded.

" A cup of tea would be nice."

Rogue got up, and walked down stairs to the kitchen. While she was brewing some tea, Liza got out of the bed and walked over to her room. She promptly began changing. She had school to go to. She came out with her usual jeans and shirts. She wore the clothes that were simple in design. She didn't like the complicated and sometimes cumbersome clothes. She grabbed the pop tarts and headed out.

" See you later."

Rogue sighed and handed Wu a cup of tea. He gulped the warm liquid down and lowered the cup. He soon found the caffeine inside the tea was working well.

" Okay, now that is settled. What should we do now?"

Rogue thought about it.

" We need to get some groceries…"

Wu went upstairs and hid his sword in the closet, and took a shower. While he was changing, Rogue had her turn at the shower. While she was getting ready, Wu entered the driver's seat and started the car. In no time, Rogue emerged into the garage. The garage door rolled up and they drove to the grocery store. It was quite far away, which was the only drawback of their location. Otherwise, the place was a paradise. The school wasn't that far, and the institute was practically next door. Rogue felt this place was good for them as well.

* * *

The store was full of people as usual. In this setting, they couldn't determine whether one was a mutant or not. Rogue picked a few apples and other fruits, while Wu walked over to the meat section. The kids wanted the cook off again, and he decided to be a little more western. After looking at the red meats, he chose a bundle pack of about a dozen steaks. The quality seemed good enough so he picked up the pack and placed it in the cart. He roamed around the aisles searching for the other things to put in. Snacks were certainly on the list, and picked out a couple of bags of chips and cookies. He finished his tour of the store and met Rogue at the checkout stand. She had a lot of vegetables and fruits. She dumped the bags in the cart and led him to the stand number 4. The cashier looked like he was about 17 or so.

" Hi."

The kid began scanning the items and punching in some key. In the end, she turned the display around.

" Total's $54.43."

Wu took out the card and swiped it, and punched in the pin number. The kid looked a little grouchy.

" Is there something wrong…" Wu looked at the name tag. "…Dana?"

The kid shrugged.

" I just found out that my boyfriend is a mutant. I think it's just nagging my nerves."

Wu nodded, as though he understood his position. He partially did, but as a mutant, he couldn't figure out why that fact was nagging his nerves. Although he decided to drop the subject, Rogue decided to investigate.

" Why are yah feelin' nagged?"

Dana sighed.

" He can throw things around, and I feel so insecure a bit."

" So, what's his name?"

Dana mumbled his name. She felt embarrassed to even talk about it.

" Michael Summers."

Wu had his eyes wide open. He knew Mike was dating someone, but a non-mutant girl. That was something. Dana noticed the look.

" Do you know him?"

Wu stammered.

" Uh…"

Wu looked at Rogue. She gave a sign of go.

" Yeah. In fact, I'm teaching him with his abilities."

Dana gasped.

" You mean you're the 'cool' instructor that Mike's been talking about? Oh my god. You look more like a woman."

Wu laughed nervously.

" Yes. I get that a lot."

The other customer who was waiting let out a cough to get Dana's attention. Rogue and Wu scooted out quickly, and let Dana do her job. They exited the store and returned to the mansion. It was quite an occasion to see the girlfriend of Mike. He never talked about it in the institute and now they knew why. Dana appeared to be a nice girl. Although she was having trouble with the fact that Mike was a mutant, she seemed to be getting along just fine with him. With everything in the back of the car, Rogue and Wu drove back to their house. After storing everything they had purchased, they now drove out to the institute. They had jobs to do. When they entered the institute, the kids were dressed in their uniforms, something that now rarely happened except for a crisis.

" What's goin' on?"

Jean came out, throwing their uniforms to them.

" Cerebro detected a mutant signature of Sinister."

Wu ran back to this car and picked up his sword. He then looked at Rogue.

" Liza…"

She was supposed to come to the institute after school. With them going to the mission, it was dangerous for her.

" What shall we do?" asked Rogue. Wu thought about it.

" Okay. Jean, you go with the professor. Rogue and I will wait for Liza and then go to where you are."

Jean nodded and turned to the X-Jet. The sleek, black jet lifted off, and turned to southwest. The nozzles that made the jet hover were shut while the two turbo fan engines ignited on the back to launch the X-Jet with an incredible speed. The black aircraft disappeared over the horizon in no time.

" Should we get her out now or wait?" asked Wu.

" Ah don't know… She does have to finish her classes."

Wu gazed at his watch. About fifteen minutes were left. Before she was dismissed.

" Let's go get her now."

Wu threw the uniforms for himself and Liza in the back as well as Rogue's and hopped on to the driver's seat. He moved the gear to drive and rolled out of the institute ground with Rogue. On the way, Rogue began removing her make up, and tying her grown hair into a single bun on the back. They arrived at the pickup section of the school, and waited for Liza to come out. While Rogue was keeping her eyes on the main gate, Wu looked at the clock concerned. Because he spared Juggernaut's life, he knew that the invulnerable giant was still out there. Juggernaut was a dangerous foe. Almost any attempt to harm him has failed. Only thing that was reliable enough to knock him out was the attacking of his mind. Since he wore that helmet to protect himself, it was hard to do so as well.

' Why are they still making troubles? Isn't the acceptance from the society enough? Why are they lingering in the past when this new blissful society has accepted their kind?'

Wu couldn't help wondering that question again and again. He knew that in fundamental root of all the other's methods were seeking acceptance, or at least recognition. They had that, so what were they doing by keep making trouble, and specifically, fighting their kinds. He thought about Magneto's principle, which was to dominate over the humans. It didn't make any sense. Any person with some degree of intelligence could see that in the end, mutants will dominate the Earth sphere. The public saw that it would be the case, that their posterity will become mutants. So what were Sinister and Juggernaut up to? What was their goal?

" There she comes."

Wu turned his head to see his Liza walking on the stone path to the main gate. The middle school had a different setting than their usual high school out look. It was more fancier, though that translated to the lacking in some other category. Overall standing of the school was good, and it fell in the district for the Bayville high school. She entered the car.

" Hi, mom."

As soon as he confirmed that she was inside, he moved on. He made an u-turn and headed straight for the institute. On the way, Rogue instructed Liza to dress up in her uniform as soon as they stepped inside the institute.

" What's going on?"

Wu didn't explain, and neither did Rogue. They thought that the situation was more dire than Liza could imagine. They drove on to the institute. Upon arrival, they ran to the Velocity, and headed to where the beacon was set off. On the way, they began changing into their uniforms one by one. Wu secured his sword against his belt and took over the controls. Soon, Rogue and Liza came out one by one. Liza seemed to be a bit anxious, since this was the first 'real' mission for her. Wu placed Velocity in autopilot and came back.

" Are you alright?"

Liza's eyes showed some concern, and her face was filled with anxiety. When she heard her father asking whether she was okay, she immediately answered.

" Yeah! I'm alright"

Rogue saw the expression as well. This girl was actually afraid. Though she had been training for these types of situations, she was scared.

" Listen, Liza. It ain't that bad. Heck, Ah was scared too. If yah paid attention to the training, yah'll beh okay."

Liza sighed.

" I guess so."

Her face lightened up, and her eyes were again filled with some happiness. Rogue and Wu took comfort in that fact.

Meanwhile, the others were having some difficult time looking for Sinister. The Cerebro had led them to a desert.

" Are you sure Sinister is here, professor?"

Xavier was getting frustrated as well. The Cerebro had detected him, but it seemed to be false. All that was out there were the dense forest.

" I don't know…"

While they were wondering and futilely searching for Sinister, the Velocity landed not far from the X-Jet. Inside, Wu radioed Scott.

" We're here."

Scott greeted them with some frustration in his voice. Obviously, something wasn't right. If the Cerebro had detected Sinister, he had to be here. Wu quickly joined up with the others.

" So, where is he?"  
To Wu's question, Scott shrugged.

" Who knows? He could have left the area."

Wu looked around the forest. It was really hot. The humidity made each moment in the uniform worse. With the outside condition like this, Wu figured it wasn't the place.

' If this is not the place, why did Cerebro showed the signal here?"

Wu took a binocular and looked around. There seemed to be a temple near by.

" Professor."

He handed the binocular to Xavier. He gazed at the temple and sighed.

" It's likely that he's in there."

Wolverine waved his hand.

" Everyone, spread out and converge on the temple."

Everyone disappeared to the jungle, pairing off with a partner. Wu paired up with Rogue, and Scott paired up with Jean. Liza found herself with Joseph Charei. The pairs surrounded the temple, and closed in. Kitty was with Lance when something emerged from behind, and struck them on the pressure point, rendering them unconscious. The mysterious figure dragged the two bodies underneath the ground, and disappeared. Xavier was monitoring everyone when he noticed that both Kitty and Lance disappeared from his senses. He quickly made an announcement telepathically

' Kitty and Lance is gone.'

Ororo got worried.

' What if Sinister has some of those artificial mutants from earlier?'

Logan agreed.

' It's very likely… I'd put my money on one of those artificial mutants as the culprit.'

While they were debating on the situation and the possible contingency plan, Wu and Rogue made their way across the jungle, which they found to be infested with leeches. Pretty soon, Rogue felt one of them on her neck.

" Aw…geez."

She plucked it out and threw it far. Wu didn't get bothered. His senses were all focused on anything unusual that might point to the exact location of the hideout. Rogue was actually bothered with the leeches on Wu's neck and hands. She walked up and began taking them off.

" Geez, don't you get bothered?"

Wu turned to face her.

" With what?"

Rogue showed the leech. Wu freaked out.

" Aahh! What the heck?"

" These things were on your neck and other places, sucking your blood…"

Wu became stiff. He thought he heard something to the left.

" Wha…"

" Shhh." Wu whispered.

He walked carefully to the source of the noise. He knew there was something going on. He walked around his position and found nothing unusual, except that the professor was worried that the team members were disappearing by pairs. Wu had taken a step when he heard the noise again. He stopped, and looked around. Something was stalking him, but he couldn't find the stalker.

' Where is this devil?'

Rogue was concentrating on the noises as well. She signaled him to be the bait, and she would get the stalker. Wu nodded, and walked on. Rogue, on the other hand, changed her pace, and kept her eyes on Wu. She heard the noise for the third time now, and it was definitely closer than before. But for all the distance she knew, she couldn't get the bearing. Unknown to both, a figure was watching them from below. When it found the right moment, it sprang out of the ground, and leaped into the air. Rogue turned around, but saw nothing. Wu, on the other hand, saw the figure in the air, and slowed the time. He ran up and sliced the figure in half with the blade side of his sword. He sheathed his sword and let the time flow normally.

" That's why the others were disappearing…"

Rogue touched the figure to see if she could absorb their memory. Along with it, came the power similar to Kitty's. Rogue grabbed Wu and phased beneath the ground. What they saw was a network of tunnels going through the ground.

" What da hell's this?"

Rogue examined the floor. It wasn't dirt, and therefore, had to be made recently. Apparently, Sinister had anticipated their arrival. Wu tried to get in contact with the Professor, but found no one at the other end.

' Professor?'

Wu opened his eyes and sighed.

" We are the only ones not captures as far as I know… I hope Liza is safe…"

The two ran down the tunnel, hoping that it would lead them to the others. If Sinister had them, they didn't have much time.

* * *

Sinister smiled a little as he gazed at the captured X-Men. He walked around, until he saw Liza.

" Well, hello there."

Liza stepped back.

" Don't be scared. I won't hurt you…not now…"

" My father will come."

Sinister laughed at that.

" Yes. I want your father to come as well. He'll be the first one to be experimented on."  
Mike snarled at him.

" You won't get away with this!"

Sinister chuckled. This boy had some spirit.

" We'll see."  


During the encounter between Sinister and Liza, Rogue stopped in front of the large metal door, and notified Wu.

" Yah think this is da door?"

Wu stood sideways.

" Only one way to find out."

Wu sliced through the door, causing the top part to collapse down over to the other side. They saw Sinister with the surprised face. He was actually expecting them carried over here, but apparently, the improved mutant have failed.

" Get them!"

The mutants recruited by Sinister ran to their opponents, but Wu knew they didn't want to face him. There were the reluctance in their eyes. These guys didn't want to die, that was it.

" Get out of my way!"

Wu charged in an incredible speed, knocking his opponents off their feet without using his sword. He stopped just near by the others.

" Okay, Sinister. Shall we go?"

Sinister smirked.

" Alright. But understand this: the mutants are meant to dominate over the humans. And my super mutants will dominate over the rest."

Wu sighed.

" I knew you were crazy, but I did not know that you were that crazy."

Sinister shook his head.

" You obviously know by now that I possess some unique powers. I know you are not one of the normal mutants. Although you were born about the same time as them, you are different. Your power is just too unique…"

Xavier was thinking quickly whether Sinister was right. Wu's power was just too unique. There was general variation of the powers so far, but Wu was just different. The control of time was something that was unusual in itself. He was wondering now, whether Wu was the first of the natural super mutant. It was a thought to be considered carefully. If the super mutants had unique powers, then Rogue might be one of them as well.

Sinister picked up on Xavier's thoughts.

" Yes, professor. Rogue is also a super mutant. That's what makes this girl a special one."

Wu flicked his left thumb to get the sword out about an inch from the scabbard. Sinister blinked his eyes and in that short instant, Wu had ran to Sinister's back and drew his sword. Sinister had realized what had happened and ducked, barely missing the blade by about an inch. The kids were amazed at the battle unfolding in front of them. It was just way too cool. Though they grasped the seriousness of the battle, but they couldn't help be amazed at the sight. The blade were cutting through every where. Sinister himself had been cut numerous times, but his healing power had helped him. Wu had wasted his energy trying to end the battle, but it wasn't decisive enough. He began to wonder about the methods to use. The sword wasn't working, and fist fight wouldn't do well. He also knew that he couldn't use the time reversal. He didn't know whether he could finish the job. He didn't know how old Sinister was, and using the time reversal without knowing the start point, he couldn't use his power. He then thought of something that Logan mentioned a while ago.

' Even though I might have unlimited regenerative powers, if my heart goes, it's over.'

Wu then shook the thought away. Sinister was powerful enough to regenerate from the half of the brain. What he needed to do was make the process impossible. He realized what he needed to do, but he needed help.

" Marko! Create a vacuum around Sinister!"

Sinister figured out what Wu was about to do, and braced himself. Wu slowed down the time and charged ahead, and cut Sinister's throat. The vacuum zone around him began sucking the blood out of him rapidly. Sinister was screaming in pain. Although his regenerative power was working hard to heal the wound, the vacuum and the blood being sucked out was preventing the completion of the healing. The wound just re-opened when it was about finished. Soon, Sinister fell to the floor, empty of the blood that was important to his regenerative powers. Wu sheathed his sword, and huffed to catch his breath. It appeared to be over. Marko was shaken by the fact that he had killed another life. The professor stopped in front of him, to reassure Marko that what he did was, though grotesque, correct.

" Marko, it's alright. There was no way that Sinister could have been defeated without your help…"

Marko was shaking, with his green eyes filled with guilt, and a slight hint of anger. He looked into Wu's eyes, only to find the guilt overflowing from him.

" Professor. Why is Mr. Law feeling guilty? Wasn't it me, who killed Sinister?"

Xavier lowered his head, and the others got out. Both Xavier and Marko went their way to the exit slowly.

" Wu, Mr. Law, took a personal oath not to kill before he became the X-Men. In his battle with Apocalypse, he broke that oath. Now, since he had to kill Sinister again, and involve someone else in his path of broken vow, he is feeling remorse. He wonders everyday, whether the choices he made were the correct ones, though we can never find out. Although his life is filled with such hardship, he still has one bliss to hold on to his lighter side. His family is the only thread that holds his guilt-ridden self from taking over his whole mind…"

Xavier stopped when they felt the warmth of the sun touch upon their skin. Wu was standing on the ramp, waiting for the two laggers. When they boarded, Wu tapped Marko's shoulder, and whispered.

" I am sorry to involve you in my fight. For that, I apologize."

Marko, already instructed to forgive Wu, accepted the apology.

" It's alright, Mr. Law."

The X-Jet and Velocity lifted off, speeding off to home.

************************************************************************

Whew! Finished it. I might put another chapter. Please R&R. I must know what you think so I can decide.


	3. Chapter 3

Lingering & Bliss

By: Wing Knight

Note: I do not own X-Men, therefore, do not sue me. This is my first X-Men: Evolution fic. I noticed that there isn't any powerful Asian mutants so……I took liberty to create one in the interest of fairness. The story continues fourteen years after **Weapon-T. **Of course, AU.

************************************************************************

The Velocity landed in the hanger, with everyone getting off of it to take some fresh air. Kurt gazed upon the sky and let out a sigh.

" It's over. I can't believe zhis ist over."

Wolverine cracked his neck to relieve the tension from the flight. He was used to the long flights, but the tension of his muscles in the neck was unbearable.

" I'm going to sleep."

With that, Logan left the hanger. Wu and Rogue got out of the uniform and changed to their civvies. The Law's gathered at their car and headed out to their house.

" Thanks for saving me, daddy."

Wu smiled at his daughter.

" Well, it was my job."

Rogue looked back.

" Ah thought yah didn't like yah daddy."

Liza shook her head.

" I love my daddy."

The car entered the mansion and they got off quickly. They were really tired from the flight.

Liza went to her room, and Rogue went to the bed. Wu, however, opted to sit on the balcony and meditate. He closed his eyes, concentrating on his mind. The howling wind blew his long hair around, but it did not bother him. With a long struggle, Wu finally entered the calm surroundings of his meditation. He searched around himself, specifically for his darker side. He felt it grown from his second killing. Although he accepted the fact that killing may become necessary, his own ethos that had been standing before was still the primary voice. Because his vow was still in his mind, he was being split into two. The one side that still lingered with his former ideal of absolute saving of all life, and the other side that accepted the new ideal of killing when necessary. Wu felt himself being pulled apart from this conflict in his mind ever since his encounter with Jack. Although the new values did not set firmly until he had killed Apocalypse, he knew it was the source. He ended his meditation without much of success. He opened his eyes to find the sun ready to set into the west, and Rogue and Liza watching television in the living room.

' Shoot. It took that long?'

Wu got up and dusted himself. He joined his family, whom he knew was the restraint against his own destruction. They were watching the show that was aimed at mostly the women. He sat down on the sofa, and gazed at his family. The joy and peace in their faces soothed his mind, though he still felt the other side waging war of ideals somewhere in his mind.

" So, Wu. What did yah think of it?"

Wu smiled, as he always did.

" It was fun."

Rogue raised her eyebrow.

" Yah sure?"

Wu nodded.

" Yes. It was fun."

After the dinner, and another round of fun, Wu entered the bed, with Rogue next to him.

" Wu, is there something wrong? Yah don't look so well…"

Wu sighed and turned to face Rogue.

" My mind is fighting with itself."

Rogue became worried.

" What do yah mean?"

" I still linger on to the old principle of saving every life, but the new ideal of killing if necessary and the darker side of me from that still confronts each other. I do not know what to do… I think I may lose my mind over this matter."

Rogue figured this would happen. It was like her when she absorbed other people and their conscious lingered in her mind. It was easier for her to eliminate them because they were not her. However, Wu's problem would be very hard to solve since both were himself. Sure, he had changed a little to the fact that he was more normal, but he liked being who he was, an innocent and naïve Monk. Soon, she saw Wu sleeping rather peacefully. However, she couldn't do so herself. It ached her mind to see him suffer, physically through his pain after using his powers, and mentally through his struggle to maintain who he is. It just was too much for a person to handle. Soon, Rogue found herself crying quietly, with her eyes still looking at her soul mate, who was enduring the battle greater than he had ever faced. She closed her eyes, hoping that it would at least make her feel better. She saw herself saddened with the possibility that she might lose Wu. There was that possibility.

' Yah can fight this… Yah can win…'

Meanwhile, Wu was still struggling in his dreams. He saw various images of himself slaying the familiar faces. Scott, Jean, Professor, Hank, Ororo, Logan… He consciousness came into shock when he saw himself slaying his own family. The red blood splattered against his face, with his darker side laughing with satisfaction. The vivid image of himself cutting Liza and Rogue arose a deep fear from him, and caused him to scream.

" AAAAHHH!"

Wu looked around, and felt Rogue's hand touching his shoulder.

" What's da matter?"

Wu was breathing hard. It was…terrifying.

" I just had a nightmare…"

Wu laid down again. He tried to close his eyes to sleep again, but the image of the red blood and the dismembered bodies of his family kept him up. He tried to meditate while in bed, but it proved to be useless. The image was haunting enough that he was even afraid of closing his eyes. He turned to see Rogue staring into his eyes. The green eyes comforted him, but he soon felt uneasy. She looked too fragile, as if he could harm her without much of effort. His conscious told him otherwise, yet Wu felt that a distance was needed to protect her from himself. He got out of the bed, and walked out of the bed room. Rogue gazed at the open door with emptiness.

' It must be really hard for him…'

Rogue thought about seeing the professor to see if it could be fixed, but decided against it. Wu was a kind of person who wanted to solve his own problem by himself. He would refuse for sure. Though Rogue knew herself was stubborn, in a way, Wu was a lot more stubborn than her. She smiled inwardly at that thought. From the normal outlook, no one would have guessed that Wu was such a person. However, she noticed from the years of relationship that Wu, in fact, was very stubborn. He opted to do things his own way if he decided so, which was most of the cases. Rogue got out of the bed, walking barefoot to the living room. She saw Wu sitting on the sofa with his hands covering his face. His hair was untied, and fell over his face, which gave an eerie feeling. Rogue sat beside him, and wrapped her arms around Wu. Surprisingly, Wu allowed himself to be hugged. Moments later, Rogue felt something wet against her chest. She let go of Wu for a moment to see him in tears.

" I can not stand it anymore. The strain is just too much…"

Rogue sniffled. She understood what was happening. Wu felt that he was losing the battle. His old fear was now emerging as days passed by, and he was helpless to prevent it.

" …I just dreamed of killing everyone, including you and Liza…"

Wu's tears intensified. He and Rogue hugged each other, as if it was the last moment of their lives. They both shed tears from their eyes, fearing that the worst may arrive any moment. The dim lights from the moon came through the skylight, and illuminated the couple. The crickets made noises as though they too, were crying in sadness.

* * *

The long night had ended with the sun light breaking through the darkness, and soaking everything with its warm rays. Wu and Rogue spend the whole night on the sofa, crying. Their eyes were red from tears and looked horrible. Liza came down the stairs to see her parents in the worst condition she had ever seen.

" What happened?"

Wu and Rogue wiped their face and managed a smile.

" Nothing."

Liza scoffed.

" Something is definitely wrong. What is it?"

Rogue decided to keep it a secret.

" It's nothin' sugah. We're just tired."

Liza sighed and went to the kitchen. Obviously she wasn't going to get the answer she wanted. When they were sure that Liza was gone, Rogue helped Wu to the bathroom. They needed to wash their faces. The faucet let out a stream of clear and clean water. They took turns wiping away the marks made by the tears. Rogue quietly took the keys, deciding to drive herself today. In an usual manner, Rogue dropped Liza at the school. However, she now drove to the institute, straight to the professor with Wu. Rogue knocked the door to his study and received a warm welcome.

" Come in, Rogue, Wu. What is it?"

Wu explained his situation again. Xavier listened through and nodded once in a while. Simultaneously, he sent the conversation to Hank. He knew that Hank would be able to help as well. Wu finished his explanation and covered his face. It was both shameful and painful. His thoughts kept telling him that he should be in control, however, it was clear that he was losing that control. Xavier saw the mind of Wu in utter chaos. It was worse than when he entered this man's mind for the first time. It was like a battlefield. Everything appeared to have been a site for a war with his own self. Wu and Rogue went out of the study, and decided to take their time in the Danger Room. It was quiet these days given that most of the students were on a vacation. Most of the first generation mutants were back with their parents and it comforted Wu's mind somewhat. He did not have to worry about hurting them for now.

" Wu, yah're gonna be alright."  
Wu sat down and began his meditation. Rogue watched him closely. He was a lot different. His face was grimacing, as though he was struggling to find himself. Obviously the choice was hard since both sides were, technically, himself. She saw Wu open his eyes and seeing that he was relieved to end his session.

" Yah okay?"

Wu sighed.

" I can not even meditate now."

While Wu, and Rogue were sitting in the Danger Room, Hank had arranged a flight to the same pyramid where he had acquired the information about Wu. Wolverine decided to accompany him. There was just no action around now, and it was starting to tick him off a bit. They got into the cockpit of the X-Jet and flew to the pyramid.

" So, Hank. What do you think you'll find?"

Hank sighed.

" I'm hoping to find another prophecy, if there is any, about Wu's current condition. I believe that we have not completed the story of what will come."

Wolverine scoffed.

" You mean to say that Wu's got another role to fill?"

Hank nodded.

" Since he is not dead after his fight with Apocalypse, there has to be a reason. Those hieroglyphs predicted the future, and I'm willing to give it a chance to find a way to solve this."

* * *

The X-Jet landed on the sands of the Egypt. Logan and Hank entered the same pyramid, bypassing the security measures and entering the main chamber that they found the hieroglyphs. The carnage of the battle was still there. The gigantic figures that were destroyed littered the floor. Hank found the point where he left off and traced his steps. They actually ended up in the next chamber, which they had not noticed in their previous visit.

" What the?"

The chamber was bright with gold, and other ornaments. Hank traced the story to the current setting. The prophecy was coming as written so far. He stopped at the text where it mentioned another role of Wu.

" Logan, do you know any hieroglyphs?"

Logan shook his head.

" No, why?"

Hank pointed to the symbols in the center. They were the symbols that represented Wu in the previous chamber. This time, it was separated, and they were battling each other.

" So what? He's doing that right now…"

Hank shook his head.

" The symbol for afterlife, or spirit is different. This is a physical fight."

They were puzzled by this.

" How are they going to fight physically? They are in the same body."

" Good question."

Hank walked around the chamber, examining every single hieroglyphs on the wall. Hank now had a full picture of the stories that had and will come.

" Let's go back. We know enough now."

Logan followed Hank to the X-Jet, and lifted off to home.

Back in the mansion, Wu instructed Rogue to leave the Danger Room, and lock the chamber from outside. Wu was scared that he would be losing his control soon. Rogue nodded and left. Her feelings told her otherwise, but she followed what Wu said. He knew about himself better than her. Especially about this type of things. All alone, Wu got up from his seat and walked around the large room. He was acting very nervously, with the anticipation of the events to come. One side of him wanted to get it over with, while the other wanted to delay as much as possible. It was now accepted in his conscious as an inevitable event.

' Can I be contained here, or will I escape and go on a rampage?'

Wu walked around the gigantic room, fiddling around with his unshaved beard that felt like sandpaper attached to his chin. There wasn't much, but it still felt like one. Rogue sat outside, waiting anxiously. She heard the commotion beyond the hallway, that assured her. It was Mr. McCoy. She got up and greeted them. However, she was surprised to see Liza with them.

" What's goin' on?"  
Hank sighed.

" We found a way to help Wu, but it will need both you and Liza's help."

Rogue didn't have a clue as to what was going to happen.

" No, Wu told meh specifically not to let anyone in."

Hank grew frustrated.

" Here's what we're gonna do. Liza will make another Wu and you will transfer the other side into the new body. If we do that, then Wu's mind should be free of the darker side."

Rogue was a bit skeptical.

" How do we know it's da right one?"

Logan stammered.

" That's where you come in. You have to find and choose the darker side and transfer it…"

Rogue gasped.

" But, Ah don't know what to do…"

Hank sighed.

" Unfortunately, we don't know either. All we know is that you should be able to sort out from the two personalities and separate them."

Rogue nodded reluctantly. This was way out of her league. Hank turned back to Liza.

" Are you ready?"

The girl nodded, although she was frightened at the idea that her father was suffering from a sort of schizophrenia. With the professor finally joining them, they opened the door to the Danger Room. Wu was very upset.

" I told you to keep the door closed."

Hank came in Rogue's defense.

" I told her to open it. We found a way to solve this situation."

Wu became curious.

" What is it?"

Hank thought about where to begin for a moment, then coughed to begin.

" In the pyramid where we found the hieroglyphs describing you, Logan and I found a whole chamber dedicated to prophesize the future event to come…"

Wu raised his eyebrow. He couldn't believe that such thing could exist. He thought that there was no fate, but this proved to be otherwise.

" So what is going to happen to me?"

The professor entered Wu's mind, and found the lighter side. He then began explaining the plan telepathically.

' We're going to transfer the other side to another body that Liza will create for us. That way, you can be yourself.'

Wu sighed.

' There is something you are not telling me…'

The professor confessed.

' According to Hank's translation, whichever side of you wins after you are separated will determine the fate of all of us. If the other side wins, then everything will end.'

Rogue took off her gloves and got ready. Wu also prepared himself by letting Rogue absorb him. Liza closed her eyes and quickly created another version of her father. With the creation of a new body as a cue, Rogue immediately made contact with Wu. She entered Wu's mind, and searched throughout for the other side. She found it lying dormant. She immediately got hold of it and exited Wu's mind by breaking her contact. She quickly touched the lifeless body again to transfer the personality over with the help of the professor. Rogue sat down on the floor and gasped for breath. It was a hard work, especially when she was thinking about the possible consequences if she took the wrong personality. Then they heard a groan from Wu. He opened his eyes, which were again shining with the pureness. Rogue cracked a smile then heard the groan from the other one as well.

" Oh, shit."

The other Wu stood up, with his eyes colder than anything that they had ever seen. If a look can kill, this was it. The darker side looked around and found his original body.

" What the hell?"  
He raised his hand and focused his power to those responsible for his separation. They quickly began to age. Wu saw this and used his power to counter act. One moment, the other's skins began wrinkling, but then the other, it regenerated to younger self. It was a battle that the others could only watch. Rogue saw the two Wus stop the use of their power. They gazed at each other with contempt.

" Well, well, well, softy. I guess I underestimated you…"

Wu gasped for breath and lowered his hand.

" Well, what should I call you? It can not be Wu Law."

The other side smirked. His hair was shorter than the original body. He looked a lot like Wu when he had just came to Bayville, except older.

" You can call me the devil, evil, what the hell ever you want. The fact of the matter is, I'm going to win and kill everyone else afterwards."

" Why?"

" Because that's my role. The time has to start again. I'm going to simply rewind the clock…"

Wu took a fighting stance. He wasn't going to let his other self do what he planned. It meant losing everything… even his family.

" I will not let you."

The other side scoffed.

" Please. You cried in Rogue's arms last night. You're scared of me…"

The other side took his own stance. Wu was surprised at what he saw. The stance was direct opposite in principle to his. The other side smirked.

" Why are you surprised? I am your opposite, am I wrong?"  
With that question, the other side charged in using the mutant ability. Wu quickly blocked the punch with his hand and threw a quick jab. The punch was deflected and Wu saw the fist coming towards his face. Wu quickly did a summersault, striking the chin of his opponent and avoiding the fist at the same time. The darker side flew in the air, and then crashed onto the floor. Wu sighed and changed his stance. The same move would not work on him again.

* * *

While this was going on, Rogue sat on the floor, dumbfounded by the event that was unfolding. The two Wus were fighting each other. She just couldn't believe why it had to be this way. Suddenly, they disappeared from her sight again, and the two reappeared in her eyes with both of them down on the ground. Logan grumbled.

" What the hell?"  
Rogue ran to the Wu with long hair. He seemed to be in such a pain. On the other side, Wu's other side was groaning from agony as well. However, he was a bit better off. In fact, he was laughing now and then.

" Hahaha…gggg…hehe. So how is it, Mr. Righteousness? How's the pain from the use of the power and my fist?"

Rogue turned back to Wu. There was the distinct mark of a blow on Wu's side. She didn't notice Wu favoring that spot until now. Rogue touched Wu to borrow his powers. She walked up to the evil incarnation of Wu and stood in front of him.

" Let's go."

The short haired Wu smirked in disbelief. Surely she wasn't thinking about fighting him, he thought. It was pretty much a suicidal act.

" Come on, Rogue. Think about it. This is a suicidal act."

" Ah don't care if yah're stronger than meh. Ah've had enough!"

Rogue raised her fists and faced her opponent. She heard Liza calling for her attention. She had something in her hand.

" Liza?"

Using this moment, the other Wu charged in and leaped into the air. He twisted his body to make multiple kicks. The left foot landed on Rogue's chest, then the right foot landed on her stomach. She flew for about three feet and then slammed onto the floor. Liza gasped. She didn't actually anticipate this would happen. Quickly, the other version of Wu took a glance at Liza's hand. She had a katana in her hand.

" Nice."

He snatched it from the frightened girl's hand, and drew it. It was bladed on the correct side. He smirked at the girl.

" Thanks."

He slowed down the time and watched Rogue get up slowly. Her reflex was a bit slower than before. He figured that the power she had borrowed had ran out.

" Heh, too bad…"

He charged in at full speed. He struck down but a loud clang echoed through the Danger Room.

" What the?"  
Wu had used his power to get his reversed blade sword.

" Well, softy. Nice of you to join…"

Wu got up after seeing his opponent back off. He sheathed his sword and helped Rogue up.

" Well, are you okay?"

Rogue grabbed her stomach and groaned.

" Ah'll beh alright."

Wu quickly signaled Liza and the others to take care of Rogue. He turned around and stared at his copy.

" I thought of a name for you…Yin. That should do it."

The copy nodded slowly.

" Yin… I like it…"

Yin lowered his sword so that the tip was pointing the floor to his left. Wu stepped sideways. He was planning on making it quick as possible.

" Don't tell me you're going to sword draw it. You know my technique will defeat that…"

Wu knew that from current position, Yin could deflect his blade and strike him immediately following it. He had to plan this carefully. They both knew the same technique and style. Wu, however, knew that Yin would choose those of higher lethality. That narrowed it down somewhat. He had to make up a technique or a style, but that was close to being impossible. Tired of waiting, Yin made his move. He charged in, forcing Wu to draw his sword. Just as he predicted, Yin deflected the sword and attempted to counter attack. Rogue closed her eyes in terror. It was the end, she thought…

Wu purposefully fell backwards, distancing himself from the tip of the blade. When Yin's powerful swing missed its target, Wu rolled backwards, and got up. He raised his sword to get ready.

" Not bad, softy."

Just then the door to the Danger Room opened, and the rest of the X-Men came in.

" What the heck?"  
Scott couldn't believe what he was seeing. There were actually two Wus.

" Who's the real one?"

Jean scanned through both minds.

" They're both real, but depends on which one you pick. The dark or light."

Scott focused his sight on the short haired Wu. He raised his right hand to his visor and prepared to fire.

" No, don't!"

The urging from Rogue stopped him, and also got him curious.

" What do you mean don't?"

Scott aimed again. This time, Yin was ready for him. As soon as the red ray came at him, he placed his sword to deflect the beam. It struck the wall with horrifying force, creating a large dent on the wall. Yin then quickly snatched the visor off of Scott.

" I'll be holding on to it…"

Scott closed his eyes and remained there. Jean came and tried to comfort him. She relayed the images that she was seeing to Scott to let him know of things going on.

Wu shifted his sword position once again. The blade now rested diagonally in front of him. Yin, on the other hand, raised his sword to about shoulder level, and leveled it parallel to the ground. Wu's eyes widened. It was a technique of stabbing, rather than slicing.

' He would know that he will miss… What is he planning?'

His dark brown eyes scanned through the area. There had to be something else targeted. It had to be something or someone slow enough that there was no way of dodging the attack.

' No… There are too many possible target…'

While he was still gazing at the possible targets, Yin made his move. In an instant, he charged up towards Scott and thrust his sword towards him. As soon as Wu saw Yin make his move, he gave chase. He saw that he was lagging behind and threw his sword in front of Scott. Yin's thrust was blocked by the sword and he was left stunned for a moment. Using this to his advantage, Wu struck Yin's hand that held the sword. With both of them disarmed again, the fist fight ensued. Scott saw the fight mentally when he heard a clatter in front of him. He reached and grabbed the object. It was his visor. He wore it and saw the image though the red again. He sighed in relief.

' Thanks Wu.'

Meanwhile, Rogue cuddled Liza. The girl was very scared. Even though all they could detect was the sound of the battle, it was enough to frighten Liza. Rogue was worried as well. In some part, she blamed herself for separating these two personalities, but it was the only way to help Wu.

' Come on, Wu. Ah believe in yah… Yah can win…'

They heard the two noises of sword being plucked from the ground. Immediately, the two came into view. It seemed as though this was it. They both were breathing hard from fatigue. Rogue was amazed at what Wu did though. He had sheathed his sword, while Yin had his sword drawn. He was actually going to try the sword draw again.

' What are yah doing?'

Wu sighed. It was going to be a tricky one.

' Come on…'

Yin didn't bother to use the same technique. He smirked and sheathed his sword also.

" Let's go."

Step by step, they came closer to each other, and with each step the tension grew among everyone. When they were about ten feet away from each other, Wu stopped. Yin made a curious look and stopped also.

" Changed your mind, softy?"

" ……."

Yin shrugged, and waited. Wu, on the other hand, kept his eyes on Yin's right hand. He knew that himself had a bad habit when he got bored. If Yin was his copy with altered ego, that habit had to show. A moment from that habit was all he needed. Wu wished that the habit would show. He slowed down the time and gazed at Yin's right hand for a while. The others were also curious as to why Wu had stopped his advance.

' Vhy ist he not advancing?"

Rogue could only shrug at the question. She didn't know either. Logan sat down on the floor. It appeared that Wu had cooked up a plan.

* * *

Wu continued to keep his eyes on the right hand. Yin, on the other hand, had his eyes on Wu's left thumb. He knew that the technique involved on the left thumb. After a long wait, Wu saw Yin's fingers begin to spread. Wu flicked his left thumb as he charged in. Yin saw the thumb and tried to react, but his habit had already advanced to the cracking of the knuckles with his hands closed to a fist. By the time he had his hand reached the grip, Wu's sword was half-way out already. Before his sword could clear out of the sheath, Yin felt the blow from Wu's reversed blade sword. The impact was announced to the others with sickening thud and multiple cracks accompanied by the scream of agony from Yin. He fell down on the floor and began coughing up blood from the internal damage.

" H…How?"

Wu sheathed his sword and kicked Yin's away.

" I had a bad habit of cracking my knuckles. I knew when I dragged it on long enough you would do it."

Wu made things as much as comfortable for Yin. Even though they were bitterest enemies, Yin was still a part of himself. Rogue came by, amazed at what Wu was doing. Soon, Yin's breathing stopped, and Wu asked the others to take care of the body. He was just too tired.

" I need some sleep…"

He began stumbling and before he left the Danger Room, fell down.

" Wu!"  
Everyone rushed in. Rogue checked for pulse, and found it still strong. They were reassured at the sound of Wu's breathing. He was asleep.

" Good, he's okay."

* * *

Liza ran down the wide area filled with people and turned around.

" Come on, we're gonna miss it!"

The two long haired figures nodded and followed the little girl down the path. The concert was about to begin, with the band readying themselves for their performance. Liza grabbed a seat and patted the seats next to hers.

" Here."

" Thanks, Liza."

The one with the white stripe amongst her hair spoke.

" Well, Wu. Ah thought yah hated these music…"

Wu smiled.

" Life is too short. One must enjoy it while it lasts with those who he cares for…"

The band started and Liza yelled in a frenzy. Hidden from the standing crowds, Wu and Rogue smiled at each other, then kissed.

" Rogue, thank you. Thank you for saving my soul."

Rogue shook her head.

" Ah thank yah, Wu. Yah're da one who opened meh, and helpin' meh with mah powers…"

Rogue raised her bare hands that was accidentally contacted by a person on the back. The person apologized.

" I'm sorry…"

Rogue turned around with smile.

" It's alright…"

The crowd grew wilder as Wu and Rogue became more intimate. With another kiss, Wu gazed into the comforting green eyes.

" I love you, Rogue."

Rogue smiled and looked into the dark brown eyes.

" And Ah love yah too, Wu."

************************************************************************

Okay, that's over. I hope the story satisfies the Wu/Rogue moment that Nicole Dernencourt thought the story was lacking. I don't know… I think it does, but tell me if it doesn't. I'll have to work hard to get those aspects right on my other stories. I've decided to make another story named Darwinian War. Basically an offset of the Monk of Bayville saga. You will still see Wu in that fic. Please R&R. And please, tell the others if they're interested in X-Men: Evolution fics. I'm really craving for some reviews…


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